Abstract
The study of deindustrialization and de-population in post-industrial cities (that is, urban centers of 100 000+people) is the primary focus of research institutes at Kent State University, the University of California Berkeley, and international researchers assessing proposals to revitalize and redevelop disinvested urban environments. Although ‘de-population’ research is primarily focused on ‘cities’, many small towns serve as ‘urban centers’ for their rural surroundings and are also impacted by the factors contributing to ‘shrinking cities’, that is, de-population, globalization, suburbanization and deindustrialization (Oswalt, 2005). It is critical that current research also document the conditions of small town decline and disseminates those actions available to address shrinkage in rural centers. In the context of Pennsylvania's Middle Susquehanna River Valley (MSRV), three river towns are documented for their collaborative responses to economic and demographic losses. This study argues that for many shrinking towns, growth may be contingent on local and regional collaborations that leverage existing assets for sustainable development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
For the purposes of continuity, this study preferences use of ‘town(s)’ over ‘small cities’ and ‘rural’ over ‘urban cluster’ based on the Center for Rural Pennsylvania designation of the MRSV counties as ‘rural’ (www.rural.palegislature.us).
www.dailyyonder.com/rural-employment-swing-states/2012/05/06/3983,accessed 12 June 2012.
Between 2000 and 2009 rural median household income decreased from $40 999 to $40 135, while overall rural poverty rate rose from 13.4 per cent to 16.6 per cent. This compares with the 2009 median household income of $49 777 and the nation-wide poverty rate of 14.3 per cent (www.census.gov; www.usda.gov).
Richard McKenzie argued that private industries had the ‘right’ to relocate to lower taxing states. He predicted regulatory restrictions would result in relocation of American industries to unregulated global locations.
‘Shrinking Cities’ (Oswalt, 2005a, 2005b) have also been the subject of disciplinary conferences, workshops and an exhibition.
A questionable point in the book designating ‘diversity’ as an importance factor of small town sustainability would disqualify many (American) towns from making the grade.
From the Roman architectural treatise, De Architectura, written by Vitruvius in 5 B.C.
In 1790, farm employment constituted 90 per cent of Americans. By 1880 mechanization reduced farm labor to 42 per cent. Farming represented 27 per cent of the work population in 1920; 14 per cent in 1945; 4 per cent in 1975; and about 2 per cent between the 1990s and the 2010 census (Richardson, 2000).
In the nineteenth century, United States’ industrial, ‘Manufacturing Belt’ encompassed New York, most of Pennsylvania, parts of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, and parts of Wisconsin and Illinois.
Complaints target federal subsidies to large farm operations at the expense of small farms. From a 2005 Kellogg Foundation report: the farm subsidy program is the largest federal rural program with more than 60 per cent of federal subsidy payments going to 7.2 per cent of farmers in the program.
See the Kellogg Foundation.
The 1862 Morrill Act endowed ‘land grant’ institutions to promote rural development and infrastructure. The 1887 Hatch Act created agricultural experiment stations for research and innovations. The 1914 Smith-Lever Act created cooperative extension programs to promote farming methods and home economics education for rural populations.
Example: citizens/not-profit, and non-government organizations.
The Susquehanna River is believed to be one of the oldest rivers in the world (Marsh, 1978; Stranahan, 1993).
In its economic development agenda, the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership (www.susquehannagreenway.org) champions the river's improved water quality and new opportunities for recreational uses.
Between 1800 and 1900, the five-country area population increased six-fold, from 27 797 to 181 229 people (McMahon and Mastran, 2005; Blass et al, 2007).
SUNMC is the regional acronym for Snyder, Union, Northumberland, Montour and Columbia counties.
Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates of per capita land consumption in the United States. Between 1982 and 2000, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazelton urbanized 6.1 acres per new household, Harrisburg developed 2.1 acres and Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton developed 2.0 acres (Brookings Institution, 2003, p. 9). See Table 1.
Table 1 Pennsylvania – MSRV statistics SEDA-COG is a regional development agency with an intergovernmental cooperation agreement to serve 11 counties in central Pennsylvania. It initiates and provides support for collaborative planning and sustainable development in the MSRV region.
After the community/public processes, Penn State and Bloomsburg State University faculty and students collaborated with SEDA-COG and the DBA to produce the report: Danville, PA Upper Floors: Assessing the Potential for Economic Development in the CBD. The study is available from the Pennsylvania State University Hamer Center for Design Research, http://hamercenter.psu.edu/welcome).
See Morgan, Lambe and Freyer's research with 50 towns (www.cednc.unc.edu/stbi). They identified that ‘home-grown’ approaches’ proactive communities can employ for sustainable development.
References
Alter, T.R. et al (2007) Strengthening Rural Pennsylvania: An Integrated Approach to a Prosperous Commonwealth Research Brief. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution.
Blass, K., Jones, E. and Knepp, S. (2007) Proposed Middle Susquehanna Heritage Area: An Overview of the Region's Cultural History. Lewisburg, PA: SEDA-COG. Technical Report.
Bradshaw, T.K. and Blakely, E. (1979) Rural Communities in Advanced Industrial Society: Development and Developers. New York: Praeger Publishers.
Brookings Institution Center Metropolitan Policy Program. (2003) Back to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution Center. Technical Report.
Brown, D.L. and Swanson, L.E. (eds.) (2003) Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-first Century. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
Camhis, M. (2006) Sustainable development. In: M. Keiner (ed.) The Future of Sustainability. The Netherlands: Springer, pp. 69–98.
Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation. (2004) Long–Term Industry Employment Projections Analysis (2004–2014). Lewisburg, PA: The Central Pennsylvania Workforce Development Corporation.
Cooke, P. (ed.) (1995) The Rise of the Rustbelt. New York: Saint Martin's Press.
Green, G.P. and Haines, A. (2002) Asset Building and Community Development. London: Sage Publications.
Klein, P.S. and Hoogenboom, A. (1980) A History of Pennsylvania. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
Knox, P. and Mayer, H. (2009) Small Towns Sustainability. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhauser.
Kretzmann, J.P. and McKnight, J.L. (1993) Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets. Chicago, IL: ACTA Publications.
Lewis, P. (1995) American roots in Pennsylvania soil. In: W.E. Miller (ed.) A Geography of Pennsylvania. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
Marsh, B. (1978) Field guide to central Pennsylvania – State college to Shamokin. Eastern Historical Geographers Association Proceedings 1 (1): 1–20.
Mayer, H. and Holzheimer, T. (2009) Virginia's creative economy. Virginia's Issues and Answers 15 (1): 2–12.
McKenzie, R.B. (1982) Plant Closings: Public or Private Choices. Washington DC: Cato Institute.
McMahon, E.T. and Mastran, S.S. (2005) Better Models for Development in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, PA.: The Pennsylvania DCNR. Technical Report.
Murray, M. and Dunn, L. (1996) Revitalizing Rural America A Perspective on Collaboration and Community. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Oswalt, M.P. (2005a) Shrinking Cities, Vol. 1. Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag.
Oswalt, M.P. (2005b) Shrinking Cities, Vol. 2. Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag.
Pigg, K.E. and Bradshaw, Te K. (2003) Catalytic community development. In: D.L. Brown and L.E. Swanson (eds.) Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-first Century. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
Pillsbury, R. (1970) The urban street pattern as a cultural indicator: Pennsylvania, 1682–1815. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 60 (3): 428–446.
Richardson, J. (2000) Partnerships in Communities. Washington DC: Island Press.
Russo, D.J. (2001) American Towns An Interpretive History. Chicago, IL: Ivan R. Dee.
SEDA-COG Community Resource Center. (2008) The Middle Susquehanna Heritage Area Feasibiltiy Study: A Confluence of Industry, Culture and Landscape. Lewisburg PA: SEDA-COG. Technical Report.
SEDA-COG Community Resource Center. (2009) Revitalizing River Towns of the Middle Susquehanna Region: Strategic Plan. Lewisburg PA: SEDA-COG. Technical Report.
Shrinking Cities Institute. Kent State University, http://www.cudc.kent.edu/shrink/.
Shuman, M. (2000) Going Local: Creating Self-reliant Communities in a Global Age. New York: Routledge Press.
Stranahan, S.Q. (1993) Susquehanna River of Dreams. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
Swanson, L.E. and Brown, D.L. (2003) Challenges become opportunities: Trends and policies shaping the future. Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-first Century. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
The Kellogg Foundation. (2005) The State of 21st Century Rural America: Implications for Policy and Practice. Proceedings Summary 20–22 March 2005. Washington DC: Kellogg Foundation.
The Shrinking Cities Scholars Group. Institute for urban and regional development. University of California Berkeley, http://iurd.berkeley.edu/Centers.
UN-Habitat. (2007) State of the World's Cities 2006/07 The Millennium Development Goals and Urban Sustainability. London: Earthscan.
Warner, M.E. (2003) Competition, cooperation and local governance. In: D.L. Brown and L.E. Swanson (eds.) Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-first Century. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
Wood, R.E. (2008) Survival of Rural America: Small Victories and Bitter Harvests. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
Zelinsky, W. (1977) The Pennsylvania town: An overdue geographical account. Geographical Review 67 (2): 127–147.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks James D. Wilson, Esq. and Danville PA Main Street program Executive Director for his insights about the region's development.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bowns, C. Shrinkage happens … in small towns too!: Responding to de-population and loss of place in Susquehanna River Towns. Urban Des Int 18, 61–77 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/udi.2012.27
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/udi.2012.27